“Well, shit. Not again.”

Saffiya was the very opposite with pleased to find herself started the same day once more, despite the success they had yesterday. She tapped her badge in annoyance.

“Nassar to Dr. Selara.”

This is Selara, go ahead Captain. Pause. Are you canceling your physical? I think I could get a six month extension from Starfleet-

“No, I am not going to cancel my physical. Are you…. uh… aware?”, she asked. Hopefully the doctor did remember their predicament.

There was a pregnant pause. I… I think so? Selara’s voice rang with confusion. It’s like conflicting memories, almost like déjà vu. I remember doing your physical, but there’s no record of it. I checked.

“We need to… do something. And quickly.”

I think that would be a wise idea. There was hesitation in Selara’s voice. Honestly, I’m not sure of what I believe any more.

Saffiya sighed. “I have an idea. We saved everyone, but what if we… made sure no one got injured in the first place? Meet me in engineering.”

Understood, I’ll meet you there. Selara out.

The doors to engineering opened, revealing to Saffiya a scene of disarray. Dr. Selara was arguing with one of the lead engineers. “What’s going on?”

“He refuses to pull the officers out of the Jeffries tube,” Selara said, arms crossed. “I tried to explain to him it’s a medical emergency.”

“And I explained to you, Dr.,” the bored duty engineer said. “They’re working in a volatile area. If I pull them out now, it could cause a plasmatic cascade. I’m not sure what’ll happen then.”

“Pull them out now, that’s an order!” Saffiyra exclaimed.

“Yes, ma’am,” The duty engineer sighed in resignation. He pressed a button on the console, “Halt your work, as safely as possible,” he glanced at Saffiya and Selara, “and withdraw back to engineering.”

Are you sure? A voice on the other end sounded worried. There’s a risk of-

“Captain’s orders.”

Understood, Work Team Charlie-6 withdrawing. The comm clicked closed.

A rumbling came around engineering; the duty engineering followed it with his eyes. “Hit the deck!” he yelled and everyone in engineering dropped to the ground. A Jeffries tube hatch flew open, belching plasma smoke over their heads.

The duty engineering growled in frustration, “Computer, lockdown engineering and initiate hazmat protocols! Vent excess plasma through the axillary exhaust vents.”

Acknowledged, initiating engineering quarantine protocols. Notifying sickbay of a medical emergency.

The doors leading out of engineering closed and locked, a forcefield surrounding them. Multiple stations around engineering started shutting down. The smoke mostly cleared out of engineering. “Start suiting up, we need to get them out of there. Be advised of possible plasma cascades.” The duty engineering said, receiving nods from the hazmat team. The team disappeared into the Jeffries tube.

Of course, Selara thought to herself. Why didn’t I think of that? “We can’t prevent this, Captain,” Selara said defeatedly. “We got the timeline wrong. The engineer’s arrival to sickbay was a delay due to the hazmat procedures, not the explosion happening.”

Saffiya considered this, “I have an idea.” She walked to one of the remaining engineering consoles. “Computer, display the causes for explosion in power relay 7-424 with a probability higher than 90 percent, arranged from highest to lowest.”

A chime sounded and a list scrolled on the screen.

“That’s not reassuring,” Saffiya said. “Any thoughts?”

“Computer, utilizing the same list, specify within the parameters of the following injuries sustained by a crew of two,” Selara typed in the engineers’ injuries in detail. “Again, arrange from highest to lowest.”

A chime sounded, a shorter list.

“Seven possibilities,” Saffiya mused.

“Do you feel like repeating the time loop seven more times?” Selara smiled.

“I do not,” Saffiya said definitively.

“Computer, render the possibilities visually and include possible solutions to them. Start from the highest.”

Saffiya and Selara studied the simulations, and solutions, several times.

“I like 2, 4, and 5,” Saffiya concluded.

“Four isn’t a possibility,” Selara said. “The tissue wounds are too deep. I agree with 2 and 5.”

“A fifty-fifty chance…”

Sickbay to Selara, Dr. Carmichael’s voice rang out from Selara’s combadge, breaking the tension.

Selara tapped her badge, “Selara here.”

We have a medical emergency and I could use your expertise.

“Understood, I’m on my way,” she tapped to close the channel. She walked towards the doors, “I’ll see you in the next time loop,” Selara said to Saffiya.

“Here we go,” Saffiya said as she left her office. She tapped her combadge as she walked. “Nassar to Dr. Selara.”

I’m already on my way, Captain, Selara replied. I think we should try possibility 2. Is it reset on 15 or 51? It’s becoming fuzzy to me.

“Fifteen,” Saffiya, not entirely sure herself. “Nassar out,” and closed the channel.

After a turbolift ride that seemed to last an hour, Selara arrived in engineering. ” Lieutenant, I need to know if your crew has started work in relay 7-424.”

“They started about fifteen minutes ago,” the duty engineering replied in confusion. “Why?”

“I need you to listen to me very carefully,” Selara kept her voice as steady as she could. “I need them to reset to these parameters when they get to subcycle 15,” she started typing commands in the console.

“Hey!” The Lieutenant protested. “The team is-”

“‘Working in a volatile area’,” Selara finished. “I know, we’ve been through this.”

“What are you doing then? Under whose orders are we doing this?”

“Mine,” Saffiya said as the doors to engineering closed behind her. “You’re going to have to trust us, Lieutenant.”

The console’s communication system clicked on. Engineering, we received orders to reset on subcycle 15, along with new parameters. We need confirmation of the change. The team member’s voice rang out.

The duty engineer looked at Selara and Saffiya, who both nodded. He pressed a console button, “This is engineering, new orders are confirmed.”

That’s going to set us back at least an hour.

“Acknowledged. Notify if you need a crew change.”

A sigh. Understood, Crew Charlie-7 out. The com channel closed.

What seemed like days passed and the crew emerged from the Jeffries tube. “Whose brilliant idea was it to reset subcycle 15?!” One of the crewmembers said as she threw a tool in her kit. “That job was an extra-” Her words were cut off as she noticed the Saffiya and Selara standing close by. “My apologies for the outburst, ma’am,” she said, wiping sweat from her brow.

“None needed Chief, and I appreciate you accommodating our adjustment. As you were,” Saffiya said.

“May I take a look at you?” Selara looked over the Chief Petty Officer.

“Ma’am?” She said, with a mixture of confusion and concern. “Is everything okay?”

Selara chuckled, “It’s not important.” She returned to Saffiya.

“I think we’re done here, Doctor,” Saffiya said, walking in step with Selara out of engineering.

The duty engineer typed commands in the console, “Computer, analyze the recent repair to power relay 7-424. Remove the following resets,” he typed into the console. “Display results.”

The computer chimed and gave a report of the results.

“Holy-”

The doors to engineering closed behind Saffiya and Selara.